Talent acquisition and development is something that Michigan State hockey coach Adam Nightingale will never have a problem with as long as he’s in East Lansing.
Through four years, Nightingale has produced countless NHL draft picks, including several first-rounders — he had five guys go in the first round just last month.
Michigan State has been credited for producing almost a dozen of the top 100 prospects in the NHL currently, according to one NHL writer, and now two of the top three goalie prospects as well.
Scott Wheeler of The Atlantic shared his top 100 drafted NHL prospect rankings on Tuesday which included nine Spartans and he heaped even more praise onto Michigan State prospects on Wednesday with his goalie prospect rankings.
Wheeler shared his top 20 goalie prospects in the NHL who have already been drafted, and Michigan State is well-represented at the top with two of the top three guys on the list.
Projected 2026-27 starting goalie Joshua Ravensbergen is the No. 2 drafted goalie prospect in the NHL, per Wheeler, and two-time first-team All-American Trey Augustine is No. 3.
To me, that means that Michigan State is becoming ‘Goalie U’ under Nightingale.
Michigan State is looking to start a goalie tradition
The last successful Michigan State goalie in the NHL was Ryan Miller and he played for 18 years before he retired in 2021. He was one of the best goalies in the NHL for well over a decade and he’s been inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame with his No. 30 retired by the franchise.
Jeff Lerg helped lead Michigan State to its last national title in 2007, but other than those two, it’s been a while since Michigan State truly had an elite goalie.
Augustine can be classified as elite as a former draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings and now a member of their farm system. With Steve Yzerman now gone, it’ll be interesting to see what the organization does with him, but he’s the No. 3 goalie prospect in the NHL so why not see if he can help turn things around in Detroit?
Replacing Augustine after he gave Michigan State his all for three years is former first-round pick of the San Jose Sharks, Joshua Ravensbergen. The NHL’s No. 2 drafted goalie prospect will be in net all season for the Spartans, looking to lead Michigan State to its first Frozen Four in two decades.
As long as Nightingale is in town, I think elite goalies are going to flock to East Lansing and they’ll help carry on this newfound title of “Goalie U” that I’ve rightfully — and of course unbiasedly — given to Michigan State.
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